Make full disclosure on Rana Plaza: activists

Activists and academics yesterday demanded full disclosure of information on Rana Plaza workers from Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
“The BGMEA has yet to publish the full list of workers employed at Rana Plaza based on which the salary sheets were made,” said Samina Lutfa, an associate professor at Dhaka University, at a press conference organised in front of the BGMEA headquarters.
The event was organised by '24 April', a group of activists, academics, photographers, journalists and writers with the aim to create an archive of the Rana Plaza tragedy.
Lutfa cited the alleged discrepancies in salary disbursement -- with many workers said to have received more than their dues and some none at all -- and urged the trade body to give a breakdown of what it gave to each worker from the relief fund.
“The BGMEA has kept the workers' ID cards while disbursing salary, so the workers now cannot prove they worked at Rana Plaza and claim their rightful compensation in future.”

Nasim Akhtar Hossain, professor of Jahangirnagar University, said BGMEA protects the interest of the owners and the government colludes with the trade body giving them impunity and immunity.
Rescuers at the Rana Plaza also expressed their solidarity with the demands of the group, urging BGMEA and relevant authorities to address the pleas of victims.